


Chance Meeting

by Origami_Roses



Series: Aelius' Backstory Ficlets [1]
Category: Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-06-25 11:54:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19745236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Origami_Roses/pseuds/Origami_Roses
Summary: The lovely MueraRashaye, creator of Friends Across Borders, has given us a few tidbits about the Companion Aelius and his previous life/ lives. We know that he can somehow pressure Rolan; he and Kantor were/are friends; and in his Heraldic life, he was a mercenary.MR and I have been discussing what Aelius' backstory might be like, and this is an idea I threw out in that discussion that turned out reasonably well IMO. I'm not hinting what he has on Rolan (and in any case, the details of it all are still being decided), but here's my take on how Aelius and Kantor started their friendship. There is ABSOLUTELY NO GUARANTEE the eventual story will even vaguely resemble this when it finally gets written. But I hope you enjoy it anyway.





	Chance Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MueraRashaye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MueraRashaye/gifts).



Aelius ducked into the tavern, glad to get out of the wind. Lord Ralton had been very intent on keeping them from town leave during the journey to Haven. While Aelius understood his reasoning about not wanting to alarm the general civilian populace, it had been a bit of a slap in the face. Milord had bargained well when he hired Aelius’ mercenary company to deal with the bandits harassing his borders. He’d all but quoted the Mercenary Guild charter. He knew full well that they’d stick to the exact letter of the contract, and random looting and pillaging was NOT in the contract; respecting the rights, property and persons of civilians specifically was. They’d been working for the man for nearly 8 months, with nary a complaint from his people. Surely he knew they were capable of self-control by now. Between the lack of leave and the implied insult, the entire company had gotten just a bit edgy. At least now that they had arrived in Haven, the Captain had talked some sense into Milord and they had set a rota for evenings off. The promise of a few pints of ale and some friendly company were doing wonders for all the men. 

Typical of largish cities, Haven had several taverns, catering to varying levels of wealth and tastes in entertainment. One of his squad mates had recommended this one to Aelius - in the middling-poor part of the city where the food was unlikely to poison you, the drink was palatable and the clientele was a bit on the rough side. A couple minstrels kept things lively with bawdy drinking songs, and card and dice games were common pasttimes. There were a few girls for hire, too, but Aelius had already decided to buy higher on the price range when he went seeking that kind of company. A nice little game of chance was just the way to start his evening. 

After paying for and collecting a pint of dark ale, Aelius headed for the gaming tables. He watched for a bit before deciding to join the table nearest the bar. The group at the table closest the door had a threesome that he’d rather avoid - little glances shared, a half nod in response, they had all the hallmarks of working together. 

A couple games and a few more tankards of ale later, they were joined by a newcomer – wearing a Guard uniform, Aelius noted warily as the man sat down next to him. City guards were always to be treated warily, in Aelius’ experience. They all too often abused their authority. This Guard seemed to be known to and liked by others at the table, though, so maybe he was one of the halfway decent ones. 

The next game started briskly. The guard was a cagey player, and Aelius started to relax a bit, beginning to enjoy the game. It promised to be a hard-fought one. Several tricks in, the table with the troublesome threesome erupted in shouts as the men started accusing each other of cheating. Chairs were knocked over as men leapt to their feet and verbal threats soon turned to blows. 

The guard looked up, but seemed disinclined to get involved as the bar’s enforcers waded in to break up the fight. Aelius wondered briefly if he was in league with the threesome. It was a gambit he’d seen before – guard arresting someone on trumped up charges and then offering to lessen the charges for a small fee. It would be a small matter to have someone arrange a fight to catch a sheep ready to be sheared. Aelius had no intention of being the sheep, but he was itching for a fight… maybe if it was blatant self-defense he could slide by without being caught in the trap. 

As if some god had heard his wish, two of the combatants stumbled toward them, locked in a grapple. All his fighting instincts screamed “FAKE!” as the two men broke apart and one of them swung at the guard while the other rushed past to the bar till. A back fist to the first man’s groin caught the man off guard and forced him to abort his attack on the guard who had gotten his wits enough to grab his chair as he stood and used the legs to cage his attacker. Aelius left that fight to him and went after the would-be thief with a roar, catching the man's foot just as he leapt to clear the bar, bringing him crashing onto the counter. The girl minding the till jumped back, wide eyed, out of range of the man’s grasping hands as Aelius broke his knee and dragged him backward into a choke hold. A flicker of movement gave him the briefest of warnings, and he softened up his opponent with a quick kidney punch before landing a solid back kick on the third man, attempting to creep up behind him. Aelius finished off the man he was holding with a blow to the head that knocked him out, and dropped the limp body to face the one he'd kicked. One of the other patrons had beaten him to the punch, and was doing just fine on his own. Aelius spared a glance at the guard, noting that the rest of the fight was well on the way to being pushed out to the street by the tavern’s hired muscle. He turned back to the bargirl, making sure she was unhurt before dragging his erstwhile opponent to the door and kicking him to the curb with the rest. 

When he returned to his table, a fresh tankard of ale soon appeared, brought by the bargirl who smiled shyly at him and paid for by the rather bemused-looking Guard. They had the table to themselves, now, the game over with cards and chips scattered in the fight. 

“So,” the Guard began as Aelius took a swig of his drink, “That was impressive. You have excellent reaction time. I’d barely begun to realize what was going on by the time you threw that first punch.” 

Giving him a half-grin over the rim of his tankard, Aelius settled for the short explanation. “Professional hazard. Always be ready for a fight. It saves your life more than it doesn’t.”

“Profes… Oh, you’re one of that company Lord Ralton was bringing in to help train the Guard. You seem like a decent fellow for a Mercenary. I can tell you at least know how to handle yourself in a fight.“

Aelius snorted in disgust. Damn fool, just like every other civvie… “And you seem pretty honest for a Pansy.” He replied, just drunk enough to be blunt. 

“A what?” 

“Pansy. City-guard. Officially-sanctioned extortionist. Whichever. Lots of swagger, mediocre skills, more authority than brains or morals for the most part. Never yet met one who didn’t hustle on the side. I just saved you from a hell of a headache, and you haven’t tried any of the usual shake-downs, yet, so I’m guessing money isn’t your angle tonight. So, cards on the table. What is your angle? What’re you after.” 

“Oh. Um, well... You see, I’m actually a Herald, and I borrow this uniform occasionally for a night out. It’s so hard to have a casual game and drink otherwise; everyone thinking you’re there to solve their problems for them. This uniform is enough to keep me from getting harassed on the way back to the stables. And if you ever do run into one of our Guard running a hustle or selling justice, please report it. They’re not allowed to do any of that, and will be brought up on charges if they do. For future reference, though, you probably shouldn’t insult them like that.” 

“Herald? You’re a bloody Justicar!? Freaking hells.” He drained the dregs of his tankard. “And _you_ were insulting _first_. Damned civvies always assuming that mercs are all bloodthirsty bastards, out to rape and plunder just for the hell of it; like we can’t be decent people, too.” He gave the Herald a half-hearted glare, becoming aware that he was really a bit too drunk to handle this conversation well. “Those are bandits, not mercs. We’re professionals; we work for our pay. We pay for our goods. Just like every other decent person.”

The Guard – no, Herald blinked a couple times thinking that through. ”Um. Sorry. I guess I misspoke. I apologize for that. From the very short period we’ve known each other, you seem like a decent person. Period. No caveats. Thank you for stepping in to help. Can I buy you a drink?” His eyes flicked to the now empty tankard. “Another drink,” he amended with a slight grin. 

“Sure. And you’re welcome.” After a brief pause, he offered his hand. “Aelius. Pleased to know you.” 

The Herald’s handshake was firm but friendly. “Kantor. Likewise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Again, there is absolutely NO guarantee that the official version of how Aelius and Kantor met will resemble this in the slightest, but I enjoyed writing it. ^_^ I hope you enjoyed reading it.


End file.
